Jul 1, 2016 - In July, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce unanimously passed a bill out of committee to
July 2016
Bipartisan Bill to Reauthorize Perkins CTE Moves Through House Committee In July, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce unanimously passed a bill out of committee to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. Sponsored by Reps. Glenn "GT" Thompson (RPA) and Katherine Clark (D-MA), H.R. 5587, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act provides a six-year authorization that reforms and modernizes some areas of the current law, while retaining much of the existing structure. Funding Allocations - Under the bill the overall federal-to-state and state-to-local funding allocation formulas remain the same as exist in current law. However, there is an increase in the percentage of funds that a state may set aside to devote to rural areas or localities with a large number of CTE students. H.R. 5587 raises that set aside from 10 to 15 percent in order to give states more flexibility to devote funding to areas of need. The overall authorization levels for the state grants see a small increase under the bill. State and Local Plans - H.R. 5587 seeks to streamline the state and local application process, while aligning the Perkins Act more closely with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). It simplifies the state plan application process by allowing states to submit a combined plan for CTE and WIOA. It also seeks to simplify the application process for local education providers, by allowing for a streamlined local application rather than an additional plan. This new local application process will include a biennial needs assessment to determine how CTE programs are serving students and meeting local economic needs. The needs assessment will also further engage business, industry, and community stakeholders in the planning process. Accountability - The bill updates current accountability measures relying on four core indicators that are more closely aligned with the indicators under WIOA. The indicators focus on employment outcomes, earnings, completion rates, and the percentage of CTE concentrators in non-traditional fields. All indicators now rely on evaluating ‘CTE concentrators’ defined as individuals who have earned at least 12 cumulative credits within a career and technical education program. The goal in this change was to focus on outcomes while more accurately measuring program success. Federal Oversight - H.R. 5587 seeks to provide states more control over CTE implementation and planning. Under the bill performance levels will be set by individual states and no longer require that states negotiate levels with the Secretary of Education. The Secretary no longer has the ability to withhold funds based on performance; however, the Secretary maintains some oversight by retaining the right to disapprove a state plan. Innovation - The bill includes the creation of a small competitive grant to support innovation through reform of the current National Activities section of the Perkins Act. Currently funded at $7.5 million, CTE National Activities are aimed at CTE research and evaluation. While some of those activities would be retained under H.R. 5587, some funding will also be devoted to the newly proposed grant. The grants, which would require 50 percent matching funds, would be available to applicants seeking to support evidence based innovation aimed at stronger outcomes for CTE students. Given that the bill authorizes National Activities at just $7.5 million for fiscal year 2017, there would not be an opportunity for abundant awards under this proposal.
ACCT and AACC sent the following letter to the committee chairman and ranking member providing comments and thanking them for their reauthorization efforts: http://bit.ly/29pxC9u. The bill may be considered on the House floor, although the timing is unclear. The House is currently in recess, and will not return till after Labor Day. Additional information on the markup may be viewed here: http://bit.ly/29qf1Hf.
